LED curable compositions

ABSTRACT

A radiation curable composition includes a) at least one monomer comprising at least one vinyl ether group and at least one (meth)acrylate group; and b) at least one diffusion hindered photoinitiator selected from the group consisting of a polymeric photoinitiator, a multifunctional photoinitiator and a polymerizable photoinitiator characterized in that the diffusion hindered photoinitiator includes at least one structural moiety according to Formula (I): 
                         
wherein:
         R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl group, a halogen, an ether, a thioether, an aldehyde, a ketone, an ester, an amide, an amine and a nitro group;   R1 and R2 may represent the necessary atoms to form a five to eight membered ring; and   the dotted line represents the covalent bond of the structural moiety according to Formula (I) to the diffusion hindered photoinitiator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 National Stage Application ofPCT/EP2011/067309, filed Oct. 4, 2011. This application claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/406,594, filed Oct. 26,2010, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Inaddition, this application claims the benefit of European ApplicationNo. 10188141.5, filed Oct. 20, 2010, which is also incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to low viscous radiation curablecompositions that are curable by UV-LEDs, which are especially suitablefor packaging printing applications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Short run packaging printing is shifting from conventional printingtechniques, such as offset printing, to digital printing, where ink jetis one of the preferred technologies. In inkjet printing, tiny drops ofink are projected directly onto an ink-receiver surface without physicalcontact between the printing device and the ink-receiver. The printingdevice stores the printing data electronically and controls a print headfor ejecting the drops image-wise on an ink-receiver.

Within ink jet for digital packaging printing, there is a clearevolution towards higher image quality and higher printing speeds incombination with LED curing. In order to satisfy these demands, a newprint head design is required. These print heads require a specific inkdesign as they only can operate with very low viscous inks. The inks forhigh resolution, high speed short run digital packaging printing have tocombine low viscosity, low migrating properties after curing and highsensitivity for LED exposure.

Particularly interesting monomers to obtain low viscous ink jet inkshave been described in EP 0997508 A (AGFA GEVAERT), which disclosesradiation curable monomers containing vinylether and acrylate functions.Suitable monomers and radiation curable compositions having high degreesof conversion and low amounts of volatiles have also been disclosed inWO 2009/053305 (AGFA GRAPHICS).

High sensitivity for UV-LED exposure, preferably 395 nm LED exposure,requires bathochromic photoinitiators. Thioxanthones are known as beingparticularly preferred photoinitiators for LED exposure. For packagingapplications, migration of photoinitiators has to be limited, leading tothe need for diffusion hindered thioxanthones. A photoinitiator isconsidered diffusion hindered when it, for example, contains a polymericgroup or at least one polymerizable group, e.g. an (meth)acrylate group.

Several diffusion hindered thioxanthones have been disclosed in theprior art. Polymeric thioxanthones have been disclosed in WO 03/033492(COATES BROTHERS), WO 2009/060235 (LAMBSON LTD) and EP 1616921 A (AGFAGEVAERT). Polymerisable thioxanthones have been disclosed in EP 2161264A (AGFA GRAPHICS) and WO 2010/069758 (AGFA GRAPHICS).

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Within the class of thioxanthone photoinitiators,1-chloro-4-alkoxy-thioxanthen-9-one based photoinitiators proved to beof particular interest in preparing radiation curable compositionsexhibiting high curing speed with 395 nm-LEDs. However, it has beenfound that implementation of 1-chloro-4-alkoxy-thioxanthen-9-one type ofphotoinitiators in vinyl ether acrylate based compositions led tounacceptable formation of migratable and volatile degradation products.

Therefore, there is a need for diffusion hindered bathochromicphotoinitiators, compatible with vinyl ether acrylate based inkcompositions, enabling the design of LED-sensitive low viscous ink jetinks for packaging applications.

In order to overcome the problems described above, it has beensurprisingly found that radiation curable compositions including adiffusion hindered photoinitiator as defined below could be cured athigh curing speed upon exposure to UV radiation using 395 nm LEDs.

The polymerisable photoinitiator according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention has the advantage that it allows the formulationof ultra low viscous radiation curable compositions which cannot beobtained when employing polymeric photoinitiators as diffusion hinderedphotoinitiators.

The diffusion hindered photoinitiator according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention can be used in a wide range ofradiation curable compositions which may be colourless or coloured, suchas inkjet inks, flexographic inks and screen printing inks, because ithas no or only a very limited contribution to the colour of theradiation curable composition.

The diffusion hindered photoinitiator according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention allows the formulation of radiationcurable compositions having no or very limited smell after curing.

Other features, elements, steps, characteristics and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the present inventionhereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Definitions

The term “LED” is used in disclosing the present invention as anabbreviation for Light Emitting Diode.

The term “C.I.” is used in disclosing the present invention as anabbreviation for Colour Index.

The term “alkyl” means all variants possible for each number of carbonatoms in the alkyl group i.e. for three carbon atoms: n-propyl andisopropyl; for four carbon atoms: n-butyl, isobutyl and tertiary-butyl;for five carbon atoms: n-pentyl, 1,1-dimethyl-propyl, 2,2-dimethylpropyland 2-methyl-butyl etc.

The term “substituted”, in e.g. substituted alkyl group means that thealkyl group may be substituted by other atoms than the atoms normallypresent in such a group, i.e. carbon and hydrogen. For example, asubstituted alkyl group may include a halogen atom or a thiol group. Anunsubstituted alkyl group contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms.

The term “monofunctional monomer” means a monomer having only onepolymerizable group, for example an acrylate group.

The term “polyfunctional monomer” means a monomer having two, three ormore polymerizable groups, e.g. two acrylate groups and one vinyl ethergroup.

Radiation Curable Compositions

The radiation curable composition according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention includes

a) at least one monomer comprising at least one vinyl ether group and atleast one (meth)acrylate group; and

b) at least one diffusion hindered photoinitiator selected from thegroup consisting of a polymeric photoinitiator, a multifunctionalphotoinitiator and a polymerizable photoinitiator

characterized in that the diffusion hindered photoinitiator comprises atleast one structural moiety according to Formula (I):

wherein:R¹ and R² are independently selected from the group consisting of ahydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynylgroup, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl orheteroaryl group, a halogen, an ether, a thioether, an aldehyde, aketone, an ester, an amide, an amine and a nitro group;R¹ and R² may represent the necessary atoms to form a five to eightmembered ring; andthe dotted line represents the covalent bond of the structural moietyaccording to Formula (I) to the diffusion hindered photoinitiator.

In a preferred embodiment of the radiation curable composition accordingto the present invention, the at least one monomer comprising at leastone vinyl ether group and at least one (meth)acrylate group is a monomeraccording to Formula (II):

wherein:m and n independently represent an integer having a value from 1 to 5;X represents O, S or NR⁴;R³ and R⁴ independently represent hydrogen or a substituted orunsubstituted alkyl group;with the proviso that when X═NR⁴ then L and R⁴ may together form a ringsystem; andL represents a linking group.

In a preferred embodiment of the radiation curable composition, themonomer according to Formula (II) has a structure according to Formula(III):

wherein:R⁵ represents a hydrogen or a methyl group; andL represents a divalent linking group selected from the group consistingof a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkenylene group, a substituted or unsubstitutedalkynylene group, a substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkylene group andan ether containing alkylene group.

In a preferred embodiment of the radiation curable composition, themonomer according to Formula (III) has a structure according to Formula(IV):

wherein:R⁵ represents a hydrogen or a methyl group; andn represents an integer from 0 to 4.

In the most preferred embodiment of the radiation curable composition,the monomer according to Formula (IV) has a structure wherein R⁵ ishydrogen and the integer n has a value of 1.

Suitable examples of monomers comprising at least one vinyl ether groupand at least one (meth)acrylate group are given by Table 1, withoutbeing limited thereto.

TABLE 1

MONO-1

MONO-2

MONO-3

MONO-4

MONO-5

MONO-6

MONO-7

MONO-8

MONO- 9

 MONO-10

 MONO-11

In a preferred embodiment, the radiation curable composition accordingto the present invention includes a diffusion hindered photoinitiatoraccording to Formula (I) wherein R¹ and R² represent hydrogen. In afurther preferred embodiment, the diffusion hindered photoinitiator isselected from the group consisting of a polymeric photoinitiator and apolymerisable photoinitiator, a polymerisable photoinitiator beingparticularly preferred. Contrary to a polymeric photoinitiator, apolymerisable photoinitiator can be used in any radiation curablecomposition, but is especially advantageous in preparing low viscousradiation curable compositions such as inkjet inks and flexographicinks.

In a preferred embodiment of the radiation curable composition accordingto the present invention, the diffusion hindered photoinitiator is apolymerisable photoinitiator having a structure according to Formula(V):

wherein:R¹ and R² are independently selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynylgroup, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl orheteroaryl group, a halogen, an ether group, a thioether group, analdehyde group, a ketone group, an ester group, an amide group, an amineand a nitro group;L represents an n+m-valent linking group comprising 1 to 30 carbonatoms;A represents a radically polymerizable group selected from the groupconsisting of an acrylate group, a methacrylate group, a styrene group,an acryl amide group, a methacryl amide group, a maleate group, afumarate group, an itaconate group, a vinyl ether group, an allyl ethergroup, a vinyl ester group and an allyl ester group; andn and m independently represent an integer from 1 to 5.

In a preferred embodiment, R¹ and R² both represent hydrogen for thediffusion hindered photoinitiator according to Formula (V).

In a more preferred embodiment, A represents an acrylate group and/or amethacrylate group for the diffusion hindered photoinitiator accordingto Formula (V), most preferably A represents an acrylate group.

The number of polymerizable groups m in the polymerisable photoinitiatoraccording to Formula (V) is preferably an integer having a value of 1 to5, more preferably an integer having a value of 2 to 4, most preferablym has the value of 2. With a value for m of 1 it is not excluded thatunreacted polymerisable photoinitiator or degradation products thereofcan still be found as an extractable from a cured composition containingthe polymerisable photoinitiator. With values of m higher than 2, thephotoinitiator is less mobile during the polymerization of the radiationcurable composition and compounds having multiple polymerizable groupstend to reduce the flexibility of the cured composition. It was alsoobserved that polymerisable photoinitiators containing more than onepolymerizable group, preferably two polymerizable groups exhibitedhigher curing speeds.

The radiation curable composition according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention preferably contains a diffusion hinderedphotoinitiator represented by Formula (VI):

wherein:L represents a trivalent linking group comprising 1 to 30 carbon atoms;andR⁶ and R⁷ independently represent hydrogen or a methyl group.

In a more preferred embodiment of the polymerisable photoinitiatoraccording to Formula (VI), both R⁶ and R⁷ represent hydrogen.

The type of linking group L in the polymerisable photoinitiator ofFormula (V) and (VI) comprising 1 to 30 carbon atoms is of minorimportance to the functioning of the photoinitiator. It is preferably asubstituted or unsubstituted alkylene group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynylgroup, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl orheteroaryl group.

Suitable examples of polymerisable photoinitiators, according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention are given by Table 2,without being limited thereto.

TABLE 2

FTX-1

FTX-2

FTX-3

FTX-4

FTX-5

FTX-6

FTX-7

FTX-8

The synthesis of polymerisable photoinitiators of Formula (V) and (VI)is exemplified in Examples 1a to 1d. More information on the synthesiscan also be found in methods of preparation disclosed by EP 2199273 A(AGFA GRAPHICS) for similar polymerizable photoinitiators, morespecifically in the paragraphs [0063] to [0087], incorporated herein asa specific reference.

Typical examples of polymeric photoinitiators according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention are given by Table 3, without beinglimited thereto. It is obvious for those skilled in the art thatpolymeric compounds are a distribution of individual polymers. For thesake of clarity, one specific part of the distribution will be given inthe table below.

TABLE 3

PTX-1 n = 3 on average

PTX-2 n = 3 on average

PTX-3 n = 13 on average

PTX-4

PTX-5 n = 7 on average

Multifunctional photoinitiators are diffusion hindered photoinitiatorsbecause they usually contain two or three photoinitiating moieties. Thisincreases not only the molecular weight of the diffusion hinderedphotoinitiator, but also the probability that at least one of thephotoinitiating moieties will be incorporated into the polymerizingnetwork. Suitable examples of multifunctional photoinitiators accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention are given by Table 4,without being limited thereto.

TABLE 4

MTX-1

MTX-2

MTX-3

One or more diffusion hindered photoinitiators according to Formula (I)can be used in the radiation curable composition according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention. A preferred amount of thediffusion hindered photoinitiator is 0-50 wt %, more preferably 0.1-20wt %, and most preferably 0.3-15 wt % of the total weight of the curablecomposition or ink.

Other Photoinitiators

The one or more diffusion hindered photoinitiators according to Formula(I) may also be combined with other photoinitiators, most preferablyalso diffusion hindered photoinitiators. This has the advantage that theabsorption spectrum of UV radiation is enlarged and/or synergesticeffects between photoinitiators are obtained, thereby speeding up thepolymerization of the monomers and oligomers in the radiation curablecomposition.

Both type I and type II photoinitiators can be used in a preferredembodiment of the present invention, alone or in combination. A NorrishType I initiator is an initiator which cleaves after excitation,yielding the initiating radical immediately. A Norrish type II-initiatoris a photoinitiator which is activated by actinic radiation and formsfree radicals by hydrogen abstraction from a second compound thatbecomes the actual initiating free radical. This second compound iscalled a polymerization synergist or co-initiator.

Suitable photo-initiators are disclosed in CRIVELLO, J. V., et al.VOLUME III: Photoinitiators for Free Radical Cationic. 2nd edition.Edited by BRADLEY, G. London, UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 1998. p.287-294. Preferably diffusion hindered analogues of thesephotoinitiators are used.

A diffusion hindered photoinitiator is a photoinitiator which exhibits amuch lower mobility in a cured layer of the curable composition or inkthan a monofunctional photoinitiator, such as benzophenone. Severalmethods can be used to lower the mobility of the photoinitiator. One wayis to increase the molecular weight of the photoinitiator so that thediffusion speed is reduced, e.g. polymeric photoinitiators. Another wayis to increase its reactivity so that it is built into the polymerizingnetwork, e.g. multifunctional photoinitiators (having 2, 3 or morephotoinitiating groups) and polymerizable photoinitiators. The diffusionhindered photoinitiator is preferably selected from the group consistingof non-polymeric multifunctional photoinitiators, polymericphotoinitiators and polymerizable photoinitiators. Non-polymeric di- ormultifunctional photoinitiators usually have a molecular weight between300 and 900 Dalton. Non-polymerizable monofunctional photoinitiatorswith a molecular weight in that range are not diffusion hinderedphotoinitiators. Most preferably the diffusion hindered photoinitiatoris a polymerizable initiator since the effect on viscosity increase ofthe radiation curable composition is much smaller compared to other typeof diffusion hindered initiators such as polymeric photoinitiators.

A suitable diffusion hindered photoinitiator may contain one or morephotoinitiating functional groups derived from a Norrish typeI-photoinitiator selected from the group consisting of benzoinethers,benzil ketals, α,α-dialkoxyacetophenones, α-hydroxyalkylphenones,α-aminoalkylphenones, acylphosphine oxides, acylphosphine sulfides,α-haloketones, α-halosulfones and phenylglyoxalates.

A suitable diffusion hindered photoinitiator may contain one or morephotoinitiating functional groups derived from a Norrish typeII-initiator selected from the group consisting of benzophenones,thioxanthones, 1,2-diketones and anthraquinones.

Suitable diffusion hindered photoinitiators are also those disclosed inEP 2053101 A (AGFA GRAPHICS) in paragraphs and [0075] for difunctionaland multifunctional photoinitiators, in paragraphs [0077] to [0080] forpolymeric photoinitiators and in paragraphs [0081] to [0083] forpolymerizable photoinitiators.

Other preferred polymerizable photoinitiators are those disclosed in EP2065362 A (AGFA GRAPHICS) and EP 2161264 A (AGFA GRAPHICS), incorporatedherein by reference.

A preferred amount of photoinitiator is 0-50 wt %, more preferably0.1-20 wt %, and most preferably 0.3-15 wt % of the total weight of thecurable pigment dispersion or ink.

The radiation curable composition preferably includes at least onecolorant, but can also be a colourless liquid. In the case of radiationcurable inkjet inks, such a colourless inkjet ink can, for example, beused to enhance the glossiness of an inkjet printed image.

The radiation curable compositions are preferably non-aqueouscompositions. The term “non-aqueous” refers to a liquid carrier whichshould contain no water. However sometimes a small amount, generallyless than 5 wt % of water based on the total weight of the compositionor ink, can be present. This water was not intentionally added but cameinto the composition via other components as a contamination, such asfor example polar organic solvents. Higher amounts of water than 5 wt %tend to make the radiation curable compositions and inks instable,preferably the water content is less than 1 wt % based on the totalweight of radiation curable composition or ink and most preferably nowater at all is present

The radiation curable compositions and inks preferably do not contain anevaporable component such as an organic solvent. But sometimes it can beadvantageous to incorporate a small amount of an organic solvent toimprove adhesion to the surface of a substrate after UV-curing. In thiscase, the added solvent can be any amount in the range that does notcause problems of solvent resistance and VOC, and preferably 0.1-10.0 wt%, and particularly preferably 0.1-5.0 wt %, each based on the totalweight of the curable composition.

The radiation curable composition is preferably a radiation curableinkjet ink including no organic solvent or water.

A free radical radiation curable inkjet ink set includes at least twodifferent inkjet inks, wherein at least one inkjet ink preferablycontains one or more colorants, preferably one or more colour pigments.

The curable ink set preferably comprises at least one yellow curable ink(Y), at least one cyan curable ink (C) and at least one magenta curableink (M) and preferably also at least one black curable ink (K). Thecurable CMYK-ink set may also be extended with extra inks such as red,green, blue, and/or orange to further enlarge the colour gamut of theimage. The CMYK-ink set may also be extended by the combination of thefull density inkjet inks with light density inkjet inks. The combinationof dark and light colour inks and/or black and grey inks improves theimage quality by a lowered graininess.

The pigmented radiation curable ink preferably contains a dispersant,more preferably a polymeric dispersant, for dispersing the pigment. Thepigmented curable ink may contain a dispersion synergist to improve thedispersion quality and stability of the ink. Preferably, at least themagenta ink contains a dispersion synergist. A mixture of dispersionsynergists may be used to further improve dispersion stability.

The viscosity of the radiation curable composition or inkjet ink ispreferably smaller than 20 mPa·s at 45° C. and at a shear rate of 1,000s⁻¹, more preferably between 1 and 14 mPa·s at 45° C. and a shear rateof 1,000 s⁻¹. For high speed, high resolution printing, the viscositymeasured at 45° C. is preferably smaller than 10 mPa·s at 45° C. and ata shear rate of 90 s⁻¹. Such measurement can be performed using aBrookfield DV-II+ viscometer at 45° C. and at 12 rotations per minute.

The surface tension of the curable composition or inkjet ink ispreferably in the range of about 20 mN/m to about 70 mN/m at 25° C.,more preferably in the range of about 22 mN/m to about 40 mN/m at 25° C.

The curable composition or inkjet ink may further also contain at leastone inhibitor for improving the thermal stability of the ink.

The curable composition or inkjet ink may further also contain at leastone surfactant for obtaining good spreading characteristics on asubstrate.

Monomers and Oligomers

The monomers and oligomers used in radiation curable compositions andinks, especially for food packaging applications, are preferablypurified compounds having no or almost no impurities, more particularlyno toxic or carcinogenic impurities. The impurities are usuallyderivative compounds obtained during synthesis of the polymerizablecompound. Sometimes, however, some compounds may be added deliberatelyto pure polymerizable compounds in harmless amounts, for example,polymerization inhibitors or stabilizers.

Any monomer or oligomer capable of free radical polymerization may beused as polymerizable compound. A combination of monomers, oligomersand/or prepolymers may also be used. The monomers, oligomers and/orprepolymers may possess different degrees of functionality, and amixture including combinations of mono-, di-, tri- and higherfunctionality monomers, oligomers and/or prepolymers may be used. Theviscosity of the radiation curable compositions and inks can be adjustedby varying the ratio between the monomers and oligomers.

Particularly preferred monomers and oligomers are those listed in [0106]to [0115] in EP 1911814 A (AGFA GRAPHICS) incorporated herein as aspecific reference.

Co-Initiators

In order to increase the photosensitivity further, the radiation curablecomposition or ink may additionally contain co-initiators. Suitableexamples of co-initiators can be categorized in three groups:

(1) tertiary aliphatic amines such as methyldiethanolamine,dimethylethanolamine, triethanolamine, triethylamine and N-methylmorpholine;

(2) aromatic amines such as amylparadimethylaminobenzoate,2-n-butoxyethyl-4-(dimethylamino)benzoate,2-(dimethylamino)ethylbenzoate, ethyl-4-(dimethylamino)benzoate, and2-ethylhexyl-4-(dimethylamino)benzoate; and

(3) (meth)acrylated amines such as dialkylamino alkyl(meth)acrylates(e.g., diethylaminoethylacrylate) or N-morpholinoalkyl-(meth)acrylates(e.g., N-morpholinoethyl-acrylate).

The preferred co-initiators are aminobenzoates.

When one or more co-initiators are included into the radiation curablecomposition, preferably these co-initiators are diffusion hindered forsafety reasons, in particular for food packaging applications.

A diffusion hindered co-initiator is preferably selected from the groupconsisting of non-polymeric di- or multifunctional co-initiators,oligomeric or polymeric co-initiators and polymerizable co-initiators.More preferably the diffusion hindered co-initiator is selected from thegroup consisting of polymeric co-initiators and polymerizableco-initiators. Most preferably the diffusion hindered co-initiator is apolymerizable co-initiator having at least one (meth)acrylate group,more preferably having at least one acrylate group.

In a further preferred embodiment, the photoinitiators according to thepresent invention are used in a radiation curable composition comprisingat least one oligomeric, multifunctional or polymerisable ethylenicallyunsaturated co-initiator, selected from the group consisting ofaliphatic tertiary amines and dialkylamino substituted aromaticcompounds, dialkylamino substituted aromatic compounds being preferred,4-dialkylamino benzoic acid derivatives being the most preferred.

Suitable examples of oligomeric co-initiators are given by Table 5without being limited thereto.

TABLE 5

OCI-1 n: 13 on average

OCI-2 n: 3 on average

OCI-3 n: 7 on average

Oligomeric co-initiators differ from multifunctional co-initiators inthat oligomeric co-initiators have a weight distribution and an averagemolecular weight M_(w), while multifunctional co-initiators have onlyone distinct molecular weight and chemical structure. For example, theolgimeric co-initiator OCI-1 in Table 5 may include the multifunctionalco-initiator MCI-7 of Table 6. Oligomeric co-initiators also have amolecular weight smaller than about 1500. Preferred polymericco-initiators are hyperbranched polymeric co-initiators as disclosed byEP 1616897 A (AGFA).

Suitable examples of multifunctional co-initiators are given by Table 6,without being limited thereto.

TABLE 6

MCI-1

MCI-2

MCI-3

MCI-4

MCI-5

MCI-6

MCI-7

MCI-8

Suitable examples of polymerisable ethylenically unsaturatedco-initiators are given by Table 7, without being limited thereof.

TABLE 7

PCI-1

PCI-2

PCI-3

PCI-4

PCI-5

PCI-6

PCI-7

PCI-8

PCI-9

 PCI-10

 PCI-11

 PCI-12

 PCI-13

 PCI-14

 PCI-15

The radiation curable composition preferably includes one or morediffusion hindered co-initiator in an amount of 0.1 to 50 wt %, morepreferably in an amount of 0.5 to 25 wt %, most preferably in an amountof 1 to 10 wt % of the total weight of the radiation curablecomposition.

Inhibitors

The radiation curable compositions and inks may contain a polymerizationinhibitor. Suitable polymerization inhibitors include phenol typeantioxidants, hindered amine light stabilizers, phosphor typeantioxidants, hydroquinone monomethyl ether commonly used in(meth)acrylate monomers, and hydroquinone, t-butylcatechol, pyrogallol,2,6-di-tert.butyl-4-methylphenol (=BHT) may also be used.

Suitable commercial inhibitors are, for example, SUMILIZER™ GA-80,SUMILIZER™ GM and SUMILIZER™ GS produced by Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.;GENORAD™ 16, GENORAD™ 18 and GENORAD™ 20 from Rahn AG; IRGASTAB™ UV10and IRGASTAB™ UV22, Tinuvin™ 460 and CGS20 from Ciba SpecialtyChemicals; FLOORSTAB™ UV range (UV-1, UV-2, UV-5 and UV-8) fromKromachem Ltd, ADDITOL™ S range (S100, S110, S120 and S130) from CytecSurface Specialties.

The inhibitor is preferably a polymerizable inhibitor.

Since excessive addition of these polymerization inhibitors may lowerthe curing speed, it is preferred that the amount capable of preventingpolymerization is determined prior to blending. The amount of apolymerization inhibitor is preferably lower than 5 wt %, morepreferably lower than 3 wt % of the total radiation curable compositionor ink.

Colorants

Colorants used in the radiation curable compositions may be dyes,pigments or a combination thereof. Organic and/or inorganic pigments maybe used. The colorant is preferably a pigment or a polymeric dye, mostpreferably a pigment.

The pigments may be black, white, cyan, magenta, yellow, red, orange,violet, blue, green, brown, mixtures thereof, and the like. A colourpigment may be chosen from those disclosed by HERBST, Willy, et al.Industrial Organic Pigments, Production, Properties, Applications. 3rdedition. Wiley—VCH, 2004. ISBN 3527305769.

Suitable pigments are disclosed in paragraphs [0128] to [0138] of WO2008/074548 (AGFA GRAPHICS).

Also mixed crystals may be used. Mixed crystals are also referred to assolid solutions. For example, under certain conditions differentquinacridones mix with each other to form solid solutions, which arequite different from both physical mixtures of the compounds and fromthe compounds themselves. In a solid solution, the molecules of thecomponents enter into the same crystal lattice, usually, but not always,that of one of the components. The x-ray diffraction pattern of theresulting crystalline solid is characteristic of that solid and can beclearly differentiated from the pattern of a physical mixture of thesame components in the same proportion. In such physical mixtures, thex-ray pattern of each of the components can be distinguished, and thedisappearance of many of these lines is one of the criteria of theformation of solid solutions. A commercially available example isCINQUASIA™ Magenta RT-355-D from Ciba Specialty Chemicals.

Also mixtures of pigments may be used in the pigment dispersions. Forsome inkjet applications, a neutral black inkjet ink is preferred andcan be obtained, for example, by mixing a black pigment and a cyanpigment into the ink. The inkjet application may also require one ormore spot colours, for example for packaging inkjet printing or textileinkjet printing. Silver and gold are often desired colours for inkjetposter printing and point-of-sales displays.

Non-organic pigments may be used in the pigment dispersions. Particularpreferred pigments are C.I. Pigment Metal 1, 2 and 3. Illustrativeexamples of the inorganic pigments include red iron oxide (III), cadmiumred, ultramarine blue, prussian blue, chromium oxide green, cobaltgreen, amber, titanium black and synthetic iron black.

Pigment particles in inkjet inks should be sufficiently small to permitfree flow of the ink through the inkjet-printing device, especially atthe ejecting nozzles. It is also desirable to use small particles formaximum colour strength and to slow down sedimentation.

The numeric average pigment particle size is preferably between 0.050and 1 μm, more preferably between 0.070 and 0.300 μm and particularlypreferably between 0.080 and 0.200 μm. Most preferably, the numericaverage pigment particle size is no larger than 0.150 μm. An averageparticle size smaller than 0.050 μm is less desirable for decreasedlight-fastness, but mainly also because very small pigment particles orindividual pigment molecules thereof may still be extracted in foodpackaging applications. The average particle size of pigment particlesis determined with a Brookhaven Instruments Particle Sizer BI90plusbased upon the principle of dynamic light scattering. The ink is dilutedwith ethyl acetate to a pigment concentration of 0.002 wt %. Themeasurement settings of the BI90plus are: 5 runs at 23° C., angle of90°, wavelength of 635 nm and graphics=correction function

However for white pigment dispersions, the numeric average particlediameter of the white pigment is preferably from 50 to 500 nm, morepreferably from 150 to 400 nm, and most preferably from 200 to 350 nm.Sufficient hiding power cannot be obtained when the average diameter isless than 50 nm, and the storage ability and the jet-out suitability ofthe ink tend to be degraded when the average diameter exceeds 500 nm.The determination of the numeric average particle diameter is bestperformed by photon correlation spectroscopy at a wavelength of 633 nmwith a 4 mW HeNe laser on a diluted sample of the pigmented inkjet ink.A suitable particle size analyzer used was a MALVERN™ nano-S availablefrom Goffin-Meyvis. A sample can, for example, be prepared by additionof one drop of ink to a cuvette containing 1.5 mL ethyl acetate andmixed until a homogenous sample was obtained. The measured particle sizeis the average value of 3 consecutive measurements consisting of 6 runsof 20 seconds.

Suitable white pigments are given by Table 2 in [0116] of WO 2008/074548(AGFA GRAPHICS). The white pigment is preferably a pigment with arefractive index greater than 1.60. The white pigments may be employedsingly or in combination. Preferably titanium dioxide is used as pigmentwith a refractive index greater than 1.60. Suitable titanium dioxidepigments are those disclosed in [0117] and in [0118] of WO 2008/074548(AGFA GRAPHICS).

The pigments are preferably present in the range of 0.01 to 15%, morepreferably in the range of 0.05 to 10% by weight and most preferably inthe range of 0.1 to 5% by weight, each based on the total weight of thepigment dispersion. For white pigment dispersions, the white pigment ispreferably present in an amount of 3% to 30% by weight of the pigmentdispersion, and more preferably 5% to 25%. An amount of less than 3% byweight cannot achieve sufficient covering power and usually exhibitsvery poor storage stability and ejection property.

Dispersants

The dispersant is preferably a polymeric dispersant. Typical polymericdispersants are copolymers of two monomers but may contain three, four,five or even more monomers. The properties of polymeric dispersantsdepend on both the nature of the monomers and their distribution in thepolymer. Suitable copolymeric dispersants have the following polymercompositions:

-   -   statistically polymerized monomers (e.g. monomers A and B        polymerized into ABBAABAB);    -   alternating polymerized monomers (e.g. monomers A and B        polymerized into ABABABAB);    -   gradient (tapered) polymerized monomers (e.g. monomers A and B        polymerized into AAABAABBABBB);    -   block copolymers (e.g. monomers A and B polymerized into        AAAAABBBBBB) wherein the block length of each of the blocks (2,        3, 4, 5 or even more) is important for the dispersion capability        of the polymeric dispersant;    -   graft copolymers (graft copolymers consist of a polymeric        backbone with polymeric side chains attached to the backbone);        and    -   mixed forms of these polymers, e.g. blocky gradient copolymers.

Suitable polymeric dispersants are listed in the section on“Dispersants”, more specifically [0064] to [0070] and [0074] to [0077],in EP 1911814 A (AGFA GRAPHICS) incorporated herein as a specificreference.

The polymeric dispersant has preferably a number average molecularweight Mn between 500 and 30000, more preferably between 1500 and 10000.

The polymeric dispersant has preferably a weight average molecularweight Mw smaller than 100000, more preferably smaller than 50000 andmost preferably smaller than 30000.

The polymeric dispersant has preferably a polydispersity PD smaller than2, more preferably smaller than 1.75 and most preferably smaller than1.5.

Commercial examples of polymeric dispersants are the following:

-   -   DISPERBYK™ dispersants available from BYK CHEMIE GMBH;    -   SOLSPERSE™ dispersants available from NOVEON;    -   TEGO™ DISPERS™ dispersants from EVONIK;    -   EDAPLAN™ dispersants from MÜNZING CHEMIE;    -   ETHACRYL™ dispersants from LYONDELL;    -   GANEX™ dispersants from ISP;    -   DISPEX™ and EFKA™ dispersants from CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALS INC;    -   DISPONER™ dispersants from DEUCHEM; and    -   JONCRYL™ dispersants from JOHNSON POLYMER.

Particularly preferred polymeric dispersants include SOLSPERSE™dispersants from NOVEON, EFKA™ dispersants from CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALSINC and DISPERBYK™ dispersants from BYK CHEMIE GMBH. Particularlypreferred dispersants are SOLSPERSE™ 32000, 35000 and 39000 dispersantsfrom NOVEON.

The polymeric dispersant is preferably used in an amount of 2 to 600 wt%, more preferably 5 to 200 wt % based on the weight of the pigment.

Dispersion Synergists

A dispersion synergist usually consists of an anionic part and acationic part. The anionic part of the dispersion synergist exhibiting acertain molecular similarity with the colour pigment and the cationicpart of the dispersion synergist consists of one or more protons and/orcations to compensate the charge of the anionic part of the dispersionsynergist.

The synergist is preferably added in a smaller amount than the polymericdispersant(s). The ratio of polymeric dispersant/dispersion synergistdepends upon the pigment and should be determined experimentally.Typically the ratio wt % polymeric dispersant/wt % dispersion synergistis selected between 2:1 to 100:1, preferably between 2:1 and 20:1.

Suitable dispersion synergists that are commercially available includeSOLSPERSE™ 5000 and SOLSPERSE™ 22000 from NOVEON.

Particular preferred pigments for the magenta ink used are adiketopyrrolo-pyrrole pigment or a quinacridone pigment. Suitabledispersion synergists include those disclosed in EP 1790698 A (AGFAGRAPHICS), EP 1790696 A (AGFA GRAPHICS), WO 2007/060255 (AGFA GRAPHICS)and EP 1790695 A (AGFA GRAPHICS).

In dispersing C.I. Pigment Blue 15:3, the use of a sulfonatedCu-phthalocyanine dispersion synergist, e.g. SOLSPERSE™ 5000 from NOVEONis preferred. Suitable dispersion synergists for yellow inkjet inksinclude those disclosed in EP 1790697 A (AGFA GRAPHICS).

In a preferred embodiment, the dispersion synergist includes one, two ormore carboxylic acid groups and preferably no sulfonic acid groups.

Surfactants

The radiation curable compositions and inks may contain a surfactant.The surfactant(s) can be anionic, cationic, non-ionic, or zwitter-ionicand are usually added in a total quantity less than 10 wt % based on thetotal weight of the radiation curable composition or ink andparticularly in a total less than 5 wt % based on the total weight ofthe radiation curable composition or ink.

Surfactants in inkjet ink reduce the surface tension of the ink in orderto reduce the contact angle on the ink-receiver, i.e. to improve thewetting of the ink-receiver by the ink. On the other hand, the jettableink must meet stringent performance criteria in order to be adequatelyjettable with high precision, reliability and during an extended periodof time. To achieve both wetting of the ink-receiver by the ink and highjetting performance, typically, the surface tension of the ink isreduced by the addition of one or more surfactants. In the case ofcurable inkjet inks, however, the surface tension of the inkjet ink isnot only determined by the amount and type of surfactant, but also bythe polymerizable compounds, the polymeric dispersants and otheradditives in the ink composition.

Suitable surfactants include fluorinated surfactants, fatty acid salts,ester salts of a higher alcohol, alkylbenzene sulphonate salts,sulphosuccinate ester salts and phosphate ester salts of a higheralcohol (for example, sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate and sodiumdioctylsulphosuccinate), ethylene oxide adducts of a higher alcohol,ethylene oxide adducts of an alkylphenol, ethylene oxide adducts of apolyhydric alcohol fatty acid ester, and acetylene glycol and ethyleneoxide adducts thereof (for example, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether,and SURFYNOL™ 104, 104H, 440, 465 and TG available from AIR PRODUCTS &CHEMICALS INC.).

Preferred surfactants include fluoro surfactants (such as fluorinatedhydrocarbons) and silicone surfactants. The silicones are typicallysiloxanes and can be alkoxylated, polyether modified, polyestermodified, polyether modified hydroxy functional, amine modified, epoxymodified and other modifications or combinations thereof. Preferredsiloxanes are polymeric, for example polydimethylsiloxanes.

Examples of useful commercial silicone surfactants are those supplied byBYK CHEMIE GMBH (including Byk™-302, 307, 310, 331, 333, 341, 345, 346,347, 348, UV3500, UV3510 and UV3530), those supplied by TEGO CHEMIESERVICE (including TEGO RAD™ 2100, 2200N, 2250, 2300, 2500, 2600 and2700), EBECRYL™ 1360 a polysilixone hexaacrylate from CYTEC INDUSTRIESBV and Efka™-3000 series (including Efka™-3232 and Efka™-3883) from EFKACHEMICALS B.V.

The fluorinated or silicone compound used as a surfactant is preferablya cross-linkable surfactant. Suitable polymerizable compounds havingsurface-active effects include, for example, polyacrylate copolymers,silicone modified acrylates, silicone modified methacrylates, acrylatedsiloxanes, polyether modified acrylic modified siloxanes, fluorinatedacrylates, and fluorinated methacrylate. These acrylates can be mono-,di-, tri- or higher functional (meth)acrylates.

Depending upon the application a surfactant can be used with a high, lowor intermediate dynamic surface tension. Silicone surfactants aregenerally known to have low dynamic surface tensions while fluorinatedsurfactants are known to have higher dynamic surface tensions.

Silicone surfactants are often preferred in curable inkjet compositionsand inks, especially the reactive silicone surfactants, which are ableto be polymerized together with the polymerizable compounds during thecuring step.

Preparation of Curable Pigmented Compositions and Inks

The average particle size and distribution of a pigment is an importantfeature for inkjet inks. The inkjet ink may be prepared by precipitatingor milling the pigment in the dispersion medium in the presence of thedispersant.

Mixing apparatuses may include a pressure kneader, an open kneader, aplanetary mixer, a dissolver, and a Dalton Universal Mixer. Suitablemilling and dispersion apparatuses are a ball mill, a pearl mill, acolloid mill, a high-speed disperser, double rollers, a bead mill, apaint conditioner, and triple rollers. The dispersions may also beprepared using ultrasonic energy.

Many different types of materials may be used as milling media, such asglasses, ceramics, metals, and plastics. In a preferred embodiment, thegrinding media can comprise particles, preferably substantiallyspherical in shape, e.g. beads consisting essentially of a polymericresin or yttrium stabilized zirconium oxide beads.

In the process of mixing, milling and dispersion, each process isperformed with cooling to prevent build up of heat, and as much aspossible under light conditions in which actinic radiation has beensubstantially excluded.

The inkjet ink may contain more than one pigment, and may be preparedusing separate dispersions for each pigment, or alternatively severalpigments may be mixed and co-milled in preparing the dispersion.

The dispersion process can be carried out in a continuous, batch orsemi-batch mode.

The preferred amounts and ratios of the ingredients of the mill grindwill vary widely depending upon the specific materials and the intendedapplications. The contents of the milling mixture comprise the millgrind and the milling media. The mill grind comprises pigment, polymericdispersant and a liquid carrier. For inkjet inks, the pigment is usuallypresent in the mill grind at 1 to 50 wt %, excluding the milling media.The weight ratio of pigment over polymeric dispersant is 20:1 to 1:2.

The milling time can vary widely and depends upon the pigment,mechanical means and residence conditions selected, the initial anddesired final particle size, etc. In a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention pigment dispersions with an average particle size ofless than 100 nm may be prepared.

After milling is completed, the milling media is separated from themilled particulate product (in either a dry or liquid dispersion form)using conventional separation techniques, such as by filtration, sievingthrough a mesh screen, and the like. Often the sieve is built into themill, e.g. for a bead mill. The milled pigment concentrate is preferablyseparated from the milling media by filtration.

In general it is desirable to make inkjet inks in the form of aconcentrated mill grind, which is subsequently diluted to theappropriate concentration for use in the inkjet printing system. Thistechnique permits preparation of a greater quantity of pigmented inkfrom the equipment. By dilution, the inkjet ink is adjusted to thedesired viscosity, surface tension, colour, hue, saturation density, andprint area coverage for the particular application.

Inkjet Printing Methods

The inkjet printing method according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention includes the steps of:

a) providing a radiation curable composition including a polymerisablephotoinitiator according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention to an inkjet printing device;

b) depositing the radiation curable composition with the inkjet printingdevice on an ink-receiver; and

c) at least partially curing the radiation curable composition by usingUV radiation with a wavelength larger than 360 nm.

In a preferred embodiment, the ink-receiver is a substantiallynon-absorbing ink-receiver. The term “substantially non-absorbingink-jet ink-receiver” means any ink-jet ink-receiver which fulfils atleast one of the following two criteria:

1) No penetration of ink into the ink-jet ink-receiver deeper than 2 μm;

2) No more than 20% of a droplet of 100 pL jetted onto the surface ofthe ink-jet ink-receiver disappears into the ink-jet ink-receiver in 5seconds. If one or more coated layers are present, the dry thicknessshould be less than 5 μm. Standard analytical method can be used by oneskilled in the art to determine whether an ink-receiver falls undereither or both of the above criteria of a substantially non-absorbingink-receiver. For example, after jetting ink on the ink-receiversurface, a slice of the ink-receiver can be taken and examined bytransmission electron microscopy to determine if the penetration depthof the ink is greater than 2 μm. Further information regarding suitableanalytical methods can be found in the article: DESIE, G, et al.Influence of Substrate Properties in Drop on Demand Printing.Proceedings of Imaging Science and Technology's 18th InternationalConference on Non Impact Printing. 2002, p. 360-365.Inkjet Printing Devices

The radiation curable compositions and inks according to preferredembodiments of the present invention may be jetted by one or more printheads ejecting small droplets of ink in a controlled manner throughnozzles onto an ink-receiver surface, which is moving relative to theprint head(s).

A preferred print head for the inkjet printing system is a piezoelectrichead. Piezoelectric inkjet printing is based on the movement of apiezoelectric ceramic transducer when a voltage is applied thereto. Theapplication of a voltage changes the shape of the piezoelectric ceramictransducer in the print head creating a void, which is then filled withink. When the voltage is again removed, the ceramic expands to itsoriginal shape, ejecting a drop of ink from the print head. However theinkjet printing method according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is not restricted to piezoelectric inkjet printing.Other inkjet print heads can be used and include various types, such asa continuous type and thermal, electrostatic and acoustic drop on demandtype.

The inkjet print head normally scans back and forth in a transversaldirection across the moving ink-receiver surface. Often the inkjet printhead does not print on the way back. Bi-directional printing ispreferred for obtaining a high areal throughput. Another preferredprinting method is by a “single pass printing process”, which can beperformed by using page wide inkjet print heads or multiple staggeredinkjet print heads which cover the entire width of the ink-receiversurface. In a single pass printing process the inkjet print headsusually remain stationary and the ink-receiver surface is transportedunder the inkjet print heads.

Curing Devices

The radiation curable compositions and inkjet inks according topreferred embodiments of the present invention can be cured by exposingthem to actinic radiation, preferably by ultraviolet radiation.

In inkjet printing, the curing means may be arranged in combination withthe print head of the inkjet printer, travelling therewith so that thecurable composition is exposed to curing radiation very shortly afterbeen jetted.

In such an arrangement it can be difficult to provide a small enoughradiation source connected to and travelling with the print head, suchas LED. Therefore, a static fixed radiation source may be employed, e.g.a source of curing UV-light, connected to the radiation source by meansof flexible radiation conductive means such as a fiber optic bundle oran internally reflective flexible tube.

Alternatively, the actinic radiation may be supplied from a fixed sourceto the radiation head by an arrangement of mirrors including a mirrorupon the radiation head.

The source of radiation arranged not to move with the print head, mayalso be an elongated radiation source extending transversely across theink-receiver surface to be cured and adjacent the transverse path of theprint head so that the subsequent rows of images formed by the printhead are passed, stepwise or continually, beneath that radiation source.

Any ultraviolet light source, as long as part of the emitted light canbe absorbed by the photo-initiator or photo-initiator system, may beemployed as a radiation source, such as, a high or low pressure mercurylamp, a cold cathode tube, a black light, an ultraviolet LED, anultraviolet laser, and a flash light. Of these, the preferred source isone exhibiting a relatively long wavelength UV-contribution having adominant wavelength of 300-400 nm. Specifically, a UV-A light source ispreferred due to the reduced light scattering therewith resulting inmore efficient interior curing.

UV radiation is generally classed as UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C as follows:

-   -   UV-A: 400 nm to 320 nm    -   UV-B: 320 nm to 290 nm    -   UV-C: 290 nm to 100 nm.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of inkjet printing according tothe present invention, the inkjet printing device contains one or moreUV LEDs with a wavelength larger than 360 nm, preferably one or more UVLEDs with a wavelength larger than 380 nm, and most preferably UV LEDswith a wavelength of about 395 nm.

Furthermore, it is possible to cure the image using, consecutively orsimultaneously, two light sources of differing wavelength orilluminance. For example, the first UV-source can be selected to be richin UV-C, in particular in the range of 260 nm-200 nm. The secondUV-source can then be rich in UV-A, e.g. a gallium-doped lamp, or adifferent lamp high in both UV-A and UV-B. The use of two UV-sources hasbeen found to have advantages e.g. a fast curing speed and a high curingdegree.

For facilitating curing, the inkjet printer often includes one or moreoxygen depletion units. The oxygen depletion units place a blanket ofnitrogen or other relatively inert gas (e.g. CO₂), with adjustableposition and adjustable inert gas concentration, in order to reduce theoxygen concentration in the curing environment. Residual oxygen levelsare usually maintained as low as 200 ppm, but are generally in the rangeof 200 ppm to 1200 ppm.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The diffusion hindered photoinitiator according to preferred embodimentsof the present invention can be used to prepare radiation curablecompositions and inks which after curing are required to have minimalextractable and volatile compounds, such as food packaging applicationsinvolving, for example, short run packaging inkjet printing orflexographic printing on packaging materials.

However, the diffusion hindered photoinitiator may also be used inradiation curable compositions and inks have less strict regulations onextractables and volatiles, such as e.g. billboard or poster printing,since it enhances the safety for the operator in preparing thesebillboards and posters.

The diffusion hindered photoinitiator can also be advantageously usednot only in the preparation of lithographic printing plates asexemplified by US 2008008966 (FUJIFILM) or flexographic printing platesas exemplified by US 2006055761 (AGFA GRAPHICS), but also in thepreparation of flexographic or lithographic radiation curing inks to beused with these printing plates as exemplified in US 2009018230 (CIBA).

EXAMPLES Materials

All materials used in the following examples were readily available fromstandard sources such as ALDRICH CHEMICAL Co. (Belgium) and ACROS(Belgium) unless otherwise specified.

Lewatit™ M600 MB is available from CLEARTECH INDUSTRIES INC.

Activated Lewatit™ M600 MB means that it received an alkaline treatmentaccording to the following method: 25 g of Lewatit™ M600 MB was treatedwith 75 mL of 1 N sodium hydroxide solution and stirred for 2 hours. Theion exchanger was isolated by filtration, washed several times withwater and dried until constant weight.

polyTHF 250 is polytetrahydrofuran with an M_(n) of 250 from AldrichChemical Co. (Belgium)

SPECIAL BLACK™ 550 is a carbon black pigment available from EVONIK(DEGUSSA).

HOSTAPERM™ Blue P-BFS is a C.I. Pigment Blue 15:4 pigment from CLARIANT.

DB162 is an abbreviation used for the polymeric dispersant DISPERBYK™162 available from BYK CHEMIE GMBH whereof the solvent mixture of2-methoxy-1-methylethylacetate, xylene and n-butylacetate was removed.

VEEA is 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate, a difunctional monomeravailable from NIPPON SHOKUBAI, Japan.

M600 is dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and an abbreviation for MIRAMER™M600 available from RAHN AG.

SC7040 is SPEEDCURE™ 7040, a polymeric co-initiator supplied by LambsonLtd.

IC819 is IRGACURE™ 819, supplied by BASF (Ciba Specialty Chemicals)

COMPINI-1 is a polymerisable thioxanthone having the followingstructure:

and was prepared as described below:

Step 1: synthesis of (1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid

Sulfuric acid (18M) (1620 mL) was cooled to −5° C. and2,2′-dithiosalicylic acid (165.4 g, 0.54 mol) was added, followed by theaddition of 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (352.7 g, 1.89 mol) over 3 hours,which resulted in the formation of thick yellow/green suspension. Thissuspension was stirred for 1 hour at 0° C. The reaction mixture washeated at 50° C. and allowed to stir for 54 hours. After reaction, thereaction mixture was poured into ice (1300 g). After stirring for 1 hourat room temperature, the crude(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid was isolated byfiltration. The crude (1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-aceticacid was recrystallized from acetonitrile (3000 mL).(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid was isolated byfiltration, yielding 186.3 g (53.8%)(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic acid4-{3-[2-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester

A reaction mixture containing(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid (28.9 g, 0.09 mol),acetonitrile (345 mL), dimethylacetamide (240 ml), tetrabutylammoniumbromide (2.9 g, 9 mmol), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.2 g, 0.9mmol) and 4-hydroxybutylacrylate glycidylether (18.0 g, 0.09 mol) washeated to reflux. The mixture was allowed to stir at reflux temperaturefor 24 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature andthe solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residual oil wasdissolved in dichloromethane (400 mL) and extracted 3 times with amixture of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (1N) (200 mL) anddistilled water (200 mL). The organic layer was isolated and dried overMgSO₄. The solvent was evaporated to yield 15.7 g of a brown oil.Acrylic acid4-{3-[2-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester was purified on a Merck Super Vario Prep column usingdichloromethane/ethyl acetate (75/25) as eluent, yielding 13.85 g of ayellow oil.

BYK™ UV3510 is a polyethermodified polydimethylsiloxane wetting agentavailable from BYK CHEMIE GMBH

GENORAD™ 16 is a polymerization inhibitor from RAHN AG.

PGA-paper is double sided PE paper, containing 9% TiO₂ in the PE layer.

PET100 is a 100 μm unsubbed PET substrate with on the backside anantiblocking layer with antistatic properties available fromAGFA-GEVAERT as P100C PLAIN/ABAS.

IRGACURE™ 127 is a photoinitiator having the following structure:

and was supplied by BASF (Ciba Specialty Chemicals).

Type I is a polymerisable Norrish type I initiator having the followingstructure:

which was prepared as described below:

100 g (0.294 mol) IRGACURE™ 127 was dissolved in 500 mL ethyl acetate.186 g (1 mol) 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate, 0.7 g (0.458 ml, 5.9mmol) trifluoro acetic acid and 1.3 g (5.9 mmol) BHT were added. Themixture was heated to 70° C. for 16 hours. The reaction mixture wasallowed to cool down to room temperature and 100 g activated LEWATIT™M600 MB was added. The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour. LEWATIT™M600 MB was removed by filtration. The ethyl acetate was evaporatedunder reduced pressure, yielding a 63 w % solution of Type I in2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate, which was used as such in thecomparative and inventive radiation curable compositions.

PCI-1 is a polymerisable co initiator having the following structure:

and was prepared as disclosed in example 1 of EP 2033949 A (AGFAGRAPHICS).

COMPINI-2 is acrylic-acid2-{2-[1-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethylester, a polymerisable thioxanthone, having the following structure:

and was prepared as follows:

Step 1: synthesis of 1-Chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one

2,2′-dithiosalicylic acid (84.4 g, 0.27 mol) was added to sulfuric acid(18M) (300 mL). The suspension was cooled to −5° C. and 4-chlorophenol(120.2 g, 0.94 mol) was added and the mixture was slowly brought to roomtemperature. The reaction mixture was heated to 60° C. and allowed tostir for 15 hours and another 6 hours at 70° C. After reaction, thereaction mixture was poured into a mixture of ice (500 g) and distilledwater (200 ml). The crude 1-chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-oneprecipitated from the medium and was isolated by filtration. The crude1-chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one was dissolved in water, using anaqueous solution of potassium hydroxide (1.5 N) (3.5 L). The mixture wasacidified to pH=2.4 with an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid (12M).1-chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one was isolated by filtration and driedto yield 140 g (99%) of 1-Chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic-acid2-[2-[1-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy]-ethylester

1-Chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one (6.2 g, 24 mmol),2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.1 g, 0.47 mmol) and trifluoroaceticacid (0.053 g=34.9 μL, 0.47 mmol) were added to2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate (42.4 g). This solution was heated at60° C. and stirred for 2.5 hours. After cooling down to roomtemperature, activated LEWATIT™ M600 MB (8.2 g) was added and themixture was stirred for 1 hour. LEWATIT™ M600 MB was removed byfiltration to yield a 25 w % solution of COMPINI-2.

COMPINI-3 is acrylic acid2-(2-{1-[2-{1-[2-(2-acryloyloxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-3-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propoxy]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethylester, a polymerisable thioxanthone, having the following structure:

and was prepared as follows:

Step 1: synthesis of1-Chloro-4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-thioxanthen-9-one

1-Chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one was prepared as described above. Toa solution of 1-chloro-4-hydroxy-hioxanthen-9-one (15 g, 0.057 mol) inacetonitrile (200 mL) and dimethylacetamide (50 mL) at 70° C., potassiumcarbonate (34.7 g, 0.251 mol) was added followed by the addition of3-chloro-1,2-propanediol (15.1 g, 0.137 mol). The reaction mixture washeated to reflux (88° C.) and was allow to stir at this temperature for24 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and thesolvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residual oil wasdissolved in methyl-tert-butylether (300 mL) and extracted with amixture of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (1N) (50 mL) anddistilled water (300 ml). The organic layer was isolated, dried overMgSO₄, and evaporated under reduced pressure to yield 20 g of the crude1-chloro-4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-thioxanthen-9-one as a viscous anoil. The crude 1-chloro-4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-thioxanthen-9-one waspurified on a Prochrom LC80 using methanol/0.2 M ammonium acetate(70/30) as eluent, to yield 8.45 g of1-chloro-4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-thioxanthen-9-one.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic acid2-(2-{1-[2-{1-[2-(2-acryloyloxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-3-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propoxy]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethylester

1-Chloro-4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-thioxanthen-9-one (2 g, 6 mmol),2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.013 g, 0.06 mmol) andtrifluoroacetic acid (7 mg=4.6 μl, 0.06 mmol) were dissolved in VEEA(16.9 g). The reaction mixture was heated at 70° C. and stirred for 6hours. After cooling down to room temperature, activated LEWATIT™ M600MB (5.0 g) was added and stirred for 1 hour. LEWATIT™ M600 MB wasremoved by filtration, yielding a 25 w % solution of acrylic acid2-(2-{1-[2-{1-[2-(2-acryloyloxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-3-(1-chloro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propoxy]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethylester in 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate.

Measurement Methods

1. Curing Speed D-Bulb

A radiation curable composition was coated on a PET100 substrate using abar coater and a 10 μm wired bar. The coated sample was fully curedusing a Fusion DRSE-120 conveyer, equipped with a Fusion VPS/1600 lamp(D-bulb), which transported the sample under the UV-lamp on a conveyerbelt at a speed of 20 m/min. The maximum output of the lamp was 1.05J/cm² and a peak intensity of 5.6 W/cm². The percentage of the maximumoutput of the lamp was taken as a measure for curing speed, the lowerthe number the higher the curing speed. A sample was considered as fullycured at the moment scratching with a Q-tip caused no visual damage.

2. Curing Speed LED

A radiation curable composition was coated on PGA-paper, using a barcoater and a 10 μm wired bar. The coated sample was mounted on a belt,transporting the sample under a Phoseon 4W 395 nm LED at a speed of 5m/min and at a distance of 4.5 mm from the LED. The curing speed wasevaluated based on visual damage when using a Q-tip, resulting in ascore varying from 0 for no visual damage at all up to 5 for completewiping away the coating. A score of 0 and 1 is considered as good toacceptable. A score from 3 to 5 is considered as completelyunacceptable.

4. Average Particle Size

The particle size of pigment particles in a pigment dispersion wasdetermined by photon correlation spectroscopy at a wavelength of 633 nmwith a 4 mW HeNe laser on a diluted sample of the pigment dispersion.The particle size analyzer used was a MALVERN™ nano-S available fromGoffin-Meyvis.

The sample was prepared by addition of one drop of pigment dispersion toa cuvette containing 1.5 mL ethyl acetate and mixed until a homogenoussample was obtained. The measured particle size is the average value of3 consecutive measurements consisting of 6 runs of 20 seconds.

Example 1

This example illustrates how the diffusion hindered photoinitiators usedin the radiation curable compositions according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention can be prepared.

Example 1a

The polymerizable photoinitiator FITX-1 (acrylic acid2-{2-[1-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethylester) was prepared according to the following synthesis method:

Step 1: synthesis of 1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one

Thiosalicylic acid (5.1 g, 0.033 mol) was added in portions to 20 mLsulfuric acid (18M), which causes the temperature to rise to 30° C. Atthis temperature 4-fluorophenol (11.2 g, 0.10 mol) was added in portionsto the suspension. The mixture was heated to 80° C. and stirred for 12hours. After the reaction, the reaction mixture was poured into ice (150g). 1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one precipitated from the mediumand was isolated by filtration. The crude1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one was dissolved in water at pH=14using an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide and stirred for 60minutes. The mixture was acidified to pH=4 using acetic acid.1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one was isolated by filtration anddried to obtain 5.5 g of 1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic acid2-{2-[1-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethylester

1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one (2.5 g, 0.01 mol),2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.07 g, 0.32 mmol) and trifluoroaceticacid (0.1 g=92.4 μL, 1.2 mmol) were added to2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate (27.6 g). The mixture was heated to70° C. and stirred for 4 hours. After cooling down to room temperature,activated Lewatit M600 MB (10 g) was added and stirred for 1 hour. Afterfiltration, a 15 w % solution of acrylic acid2-{2-[1-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethylester in 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate was obtained, which wasdirectly used in the radiation curable compositions according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

Example 1b

The polymerizable photoinitiator FITX-2 (acrylic acid2-acryloyloxy-3-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propyl ester)was prepared according to the following synthesis method:

Step 1: synthesis of4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one

The reactant 1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-thioxanthen-9-one was prepared asdescribed above in Example 1a. To a suspension of1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-9H-thioxanthen-9-on (92%) (306 g, 1.14 mol) inacetonitrile (3500 mL), potassium carbonate (464 g, 3.36 mol) was addedwhile stirring vigorously. 3-Chloro-1,2-propanediol (371 g, 3.36 mol)was added drop wise over 30 minutes. The reaction mixture was heated toreflux and allowed to stir for 24 hours. The mixture was filtered andthe residue washed with warm acetonitrile (500 mL) (70° C.). Thefiltrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residual solid wastreated with a mixture of methyl-tert-butylether (400 mL) and acetone(40 ml) and stirred for about an hour. The crude4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one was isolated byfiltration and dried. The crude4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one was treated twicewith 1000 mL water at 60° C., isolated by filtration and dried.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic acid2-acryloyloxy-3-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propyl ester

4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one (2.9 g, 9 mmol),3-chloropropionyl chloride (9.5 g, 75 mmol), potassium carbonate (10.4g, 75 mmol) and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.1 g, 0.00045 mol)were added to acetonitrile (35 mL). The reaction mixture was heated at81° C. and stirred for 6 hours. After cooling down to room temperature,dichloromethane (200 mL) was added and the reaction mixture wasextracted with distilled water (200 mL). The organic layer wasseparated, dried over MgSO₄ and evaporated under reduced pressure. Theproduct was purified on a Prochrom LC 80 Column usingdichloromethane/ethyl acetate (98/2) as eluent and Kromasil Si60A 10 μmas packing material, to yield 1.2 g of acrylic acid2-acryloyloxy-3-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propyl ester.

Example 1c

The polymerizable photoinitiator FITX-3 (acrylic acid2-(2-{1-[2-(2-acryloyloxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-3-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propoxy)ethoxy}-ethylester)was prepared according to the following synthesis method:

4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one was prepared asdescribed in Example 1b.4-(2,3-dihydroxy-propoxy)-1-fluoro-thioxanthen-9-one (97.8%) (117.9 g,0.36 mol), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (1.6 g, 7.2 mol) andtrifluoroacetic acid (1.64 g=1.07 mL, 14.4 mol) were added to2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate (998 g). This solution was heated at70° C. and stirred for 6 hours. After cooling down to room temperature,activated LEWATIT™ M600 MB (16.4 g) was added and stirred for 1 hour.After removal of LEWATIT™ M600 MB by filtration, a 25 w % solution ofacrylic acid2-(2-{1-[2-(2-acryloyloxy-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-3-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-propoxy)ethoxy}-ethylesterin 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate was obtained, which was directlyused in radiation curable compositions according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

Example 1d

The polymerizable photoinitiator FITX-4 (acrylic acid4-{3-[2-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester) was prepared according to the following synthesis method:

Step 1: synthesis of 1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid

To 60 mL sulfuric acid (18M), cooled to −5° C., 2,2′-dithiosalicylicacid (6.1 g, 0.02 mol) was added in portions, followed by the additionof 4-fluorophenoxyacetic acid (11.9 g, 0.07 mol), which resulted in theformation of thick yellow suspension. The reaction mixture is heated to60° C. and allowed to stir for 6 hours. After the reaction, the reactionmixture was poured into ice (300 g) and distilled water (100 mL). Thecrude (1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid was isolatedby filtration. The crude (1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-aceticacid was recrystallized from 250 mL acetonitrile.(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid was isolated byfiltration and dried yielding 4.5 g (38.9%) of(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid.

Step 2: synthesis of acrylic acid4-{3-[2-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester

A reaction mixture containing(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid (4.0 g, 13 mmol),acetonitrile (65 mL), dimethylacetamide (30 ml), tetrabutylammoniumbromide (0.4 g, 1.3 mol), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (0.03 g,0.00013 mol) and 4-hydroxybutylacrylate glycidylether (2.6 g, 13 mmol)was heated to reflux (94° C.). The mixture was allowed to stir at refluxtemperature for 24 hours. The solvent was removed under reducedpressure. The residual oil was dissolved in dichloromethane (100 mL) andextracted with a mixture of distilled water (50 ml) and an aqueoussolution of sodium hydroxide 1N (50 mL). The organic layer was isolatedand dried over MgSO₄. Evaporation of the solvent under reduced pressureyielded 7.5 g of the crude acrylic acid4-{3-[2-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester. The product was purified on a Merck Super Vario Prep Column usingdichloromethane/ethyl acetate (75/25) as eluent, yielding 2.8 g of4-{3-[2-(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetoxy]-2-hydroxy-propoxy}-butylester as a yellow oil.

Example 1e

The polymeric photoinitiator PTX-2 was prepared according to thefollowing synthesis method:

(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid was prepared asdescribed above in Example 1d. A mixture of(1-fluoro-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-yloxy)-acetic acid (12.2 g, 0.04 mol),pentaerythritol ethoxylate (15/4 EO/OH), Mn˜797 (8.0 g, 0.01 mol) andp-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (9.0 g, 0.055 mol) in toluene (350mL) was heated at reflux for 6 hours, while water was removed underazeotropic distillation. The reaction mixture was cooled to roomtemperature and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. Theresidual oil was dissolved in dichloromethane (300 mL) and extracted 5times with a mixture of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (1N)(100 ml) and distilled water (50 ml). The organic layer was isolated anddried over MgSO₄. Evaporation of the solvent yielded 21.9 g of the crudePTX-2 as a brown oil. The polymer was purifed on a Graceresolv NP-Flashcolumn, using a gradient elution from methylene chloride to methylenechloride/ethyl acetate 90/10. 14.35 g of PTX-2 was isolated. The polymerwas redissolved in 500 ml methylene chloride and extracted with 500 ml 1M Na₂CO₃. The organic fraction was isolated, dried over MgSO₄ andevaporated under reduced pressure. 14.16 g of PTX-2 was isolated.

Example 2

This example illustrates the high curing speed of radiation curablecompositions according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention for both UV-LED and mercury lamp radiation.

Preparation of Radiation Curable Compositions

First a concentrated pigment dispersion DISP1 was prepared. A 30 wt %solution of DB162 in 2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate was prepared. 1w/w % GENORAD™ 16 was added. 99.27 g Special Black 550 and 35.73 gHOSTAPERM™ Blue P-BFS were added to a mixture of 306 g2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxy)ethylacrylate, 450 g of the DB162 solution and 9 gGENORAD™ 16, while stirring with a DISPERLUX dispenser. Stirring wascontinued for 30 minutes. The vessel was connected to a NetzschMini-Zeta filled for 50% with 0.4 mm yttrium stabilized zirconia beads(“high wear resistant zirconia grinding media” from TOSOH Co.). Themixture was circulated over the mill for 4 hours at a flow rate of 150mL/min and a rotation speed in the mill of about 10.4 m/s. During thecomplete milling procedure the content in the mill was cooled to atemperature of 28° C. After milling, the dispersion DISP-1 wasdischarged into a 2 L-vessel. The resulting concentrated pigmentdispersion DISP-1 according to Table 8 exhibited an average particlesize of 102 nm.

TABLE 8 Component wt % SPECIAL BLACK ™ 550 11 HOSTAPERM ™ Blue P-BFS 4DB162 15 GENORAD ™ 16 1 VEEA 69

The comparative radiation curable composition COMP-1 and inventiveradiation curable compositions INV-1 to INV-4 were prepared according toTable 9. The weight % (wt %) was based on the total weight of theradiation curable compositions.

TABLE 9 wt % of COMP-1 INV-1 INV-2 INV-3 INV-4 VEEA 59 31 59 44 59 M6006 6 6 6 6 SC7040 5 5 5 5 5 IC819 3 3 3 3 3 COMPINI-1 5 — — — — FITX-1 —33 — — — (15 w % in VEEA) FITX-2 — — 5 — — FITX-3 — — — 20 — (25 w % inVEEA) FITX-4 — — — — 5 DISP1 20 20 20 20 20 BYK ™ UV3510 1 1 1 1 1GENORAD ™ 16 1 1 1 1 1Evaluation and Results

The viscosity of comparative radiation curable composition COMP-1 andinventive radiation curable compositions INV-1 to INV-4 was measured,using a Brookfield DV-II+ viscometer at 45° C. at 12 rotations perminute (which corresponds to a shear rate of 90 s⁻¹). The measuredviscosities are given in Table 10.

TABLE 10 Radiation curable Viscosity composition (mPa · s) COMP-1 6.5INV-1 6.4 INV-2 6.7 INV-3 6.6 INV-4 6.0

From Table 10 it should be clear that all radiation curable compositionshave a viscosity suitable for short run packaging inkjet printing.

The curing speed for mercury lamp exposure and LED exposure of thecomparative radiation curable composition COMP-1 and inventive radiationcurable compositions INV-1 to INV-4 was evaluated. The results for theevaluations of the curing speed are summarized in Table 11.

TABLE 11 Radiation curable Curing speed composition D-bulb Curing speedLED COMP-1 55% 1 INV-1 55% 1 INV-2 45% 0 INV-3 50% 0 INV-4 60% 1

The radiation curable compositions according to preferred embodiments ofthe present invention exhibited a high curing speed both for mercurylamp exposure and LED exposure. It can be seen that high curing speed isespecially observed for the radiation curable compositions INV-2 andINV-3 containing a polymerisable photoinitiator containing more than onepolymerizable group.

Example 3

This example illustrates the reduced formation of migratable degradationproducts after curing the radiation curable compositions according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

Preparation of Radiation Curable Compositions

The comparative radiation curable compositions COMP-2 and COMP-3 andinventive radiation curable compositions INV-5 and INV-6 were preparedaccording to Table 12. The weight % (wt %) was based on the total weightof the radiation curable compositions.

TABLE 12 wt % of COMP-2 COMP-3 INV-5 INV-6 VEEA 45 45 32 45 M600 20 2020 20 Type I 9 9 9 9 PCI-1 5 5 5 5 COMPINI-2 20 — — — (25 w % in VEEA)COMPINI-3 — 20 — — (25 w % in VEEA) FITX-1 — — 33 — (15 w % in VEEA)FITX-3 — — — 20 (25 w % in VEEA) Dibutyl phthalate 1 1 1 1Evaluation and ResultsViscosity

The viscosity of the radiation curable compositions COMP-2, COMP-3,INV-5 and INV-6 was measured using a Brookfield DV-II+ viscometer at 25°C. at 6 RPM and were found to be in the range of 17 to 18 mPa·s, makingthem suitable for short run packaging inkjet printing.

Curing

The free radical curable compositions COMP-2, COMP-3, INV-5 and INV-6were coated on a PET100 substrate using a bar coater and a 10 μm wiredbar. Each coated sample was cured using a Fusion DRSE-120 conveyer,equipped with a Fusion VPS/1600 lamp (D-bulb), which transported thesamples under the UV-lamp on a conveyer belt at a speed of 10 m/min. Thelamp was used at its maximum output.

The Determination of the Extractable Residues

Two samples of 7.068 cm² of COMP-2, COMP-3, INV-5 and INV-6 were putinto a 50 ml beaker and extracted with 4.5 mL acetonitrile, usingultrasound for 30 minutes. The extract was transferred into a 5 mLvolumetric flask. The samples were rinsed twice with a small amount ofacetonitrile and the rinsing solvent was transferred into the 5 mLvolumetric flask until the volume was adjusted to 5 mL. The solution wasthoroughly mixed and filtered over a 0.45 μm filter. 10 μL of eachsample was injected on the HPLC.

The chromatographic method used an Alltime™ C18 5 μm column (150×3.2 mm)supplied by Alltech. A flow rate of 0.5 mL/min was used at a temPeratureof 40° C. A DAD detector at 291 nm was used to detect the extractedinitiators and the co-initiator. The HPLC-method used for all sampleshad an applied gradient with an end run=38 min as given by Table 13.

TABLE 13 Time % eluent % eluent % eluent % eluent (min) A B C D 0 70 300 0 6 70 30 0 0 11 0 100 0 0 20 0 100 0 0 21 0 0 100 0 24 0 0 100 0 25 00 0 100 30 0 0 0 100 31 70 30 0 0 38 70 30 0 0 wherein Eluent A: H₂O +0.02 M KH₂PO₄ pH = 2.5 using H₃PO₄ Eluent B: H₂O + 0.02 M KH₂PO₄ pH +2.5 using H₃PO₄/CH₃CN [40/60] (v/v) Eluent C: H₂O/CH₃CN [40/60] (v/v)Eluent D: H₂O/CH₃CN [10/90] (v/v).

The HPLC-analysis of the comparative radiation curable compositionsCOMP-2 and COMP-3 revealed the formation of considerable amounts ofdegradation products. High concentrations of one specific compound, notcorresponding to one of the initial components of the compositions, werefound. This compound was identified as IRGACURE™ 127. IRGACURE™ 127 wasquantified in both the comparative and the inventive radiation curablecompositions. The results are summarized in Table 14.

TABLE 14 Extracted amount of Radiation curable IRGACURE ™ 127composition (mg/m²) COMP-2 180 COMP-3 101 INV-5 <2 (if present) INV-6 <2(if present)

From Table 14, it becomes apparent that curing of the radiation curablecompositions according to preferred embodiments of the present inventionresults in the formation of low amounts of degradation products, whilethe corresponding comparative compositions including the corresponding1-chloro-4-alkoxy-thioxanthen-9-one derivatives result in the formationof an unacceptable level of migratable degradation products.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A radiation curable inkjet ink comprising:at least one monomer including at least one vinyl ether group and atleast one (meth)acrylate group; and at least one diffusion hinderedphotoinitiator selected from the group consisting of polymerizablephotoinitiators; wherein the at least one diffusion hinderedphotoinitiator includes at least one structural moiety according toFormula (I):

wherein R¹ and R² are independently selected from the group consistingof a hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substitutedor unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynylgroup, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl orheteroaryl group, a halogen, an ether, a thioether, an aldehyde, aketone, an ester, an amide, an amine, and a nitro group; R¹ and R² mayrepresent the necessary atoms to form a five to eight membered ring; andthe dotted line represents the covalent bond of the structural moietyaccording to Formula (I) to the at least one diffusion hinderedphotoinitiator.
 2. The radiation curable inkjet ink according to claim1, wherein the at least one monomer is a monomer according to Formula(II):

wherein: m and n independently represent an integer having a value from1 to 5; X represents O, S, or NR⁴; R³ and R⁴ independently representhydrogen or a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group; with the provisothat when X=NR⁴ then L and R⁴ may together form a ring system; and Lrepresents a linking group.
 3. The radiation curable inkjet inkaccording to claim 2, wherein the monomer according to Formula (II) hasa structure according to Formula (III):

wherein: R⁵ represents a hydrogen or a methyl group; and L represents adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting of asubstituted or unsubstituted alkylene group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkenylene group, a substituted or unsubstitutedalkynylene group, a substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkylene group,and an ether containing alkylene group.
 4. The radiation curable inkjetink according to claim 3, wherein the monomer according to Formula (III)has a structure according to Formula (IV):

wherein: R⁵ represents a hydrogen or a methyl group; and n represents aninteger from 0 to
 4. 5. The radiation curable inkjet ink according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one diffusion hindered photoinitiator hasa structure according to Formula (V):

wherein: R¹ and R² are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, a substitutedor unsubstituted alkenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynylgroup, a substituted or unsubstituted aralkyl group, a substituted orunsubstituted alkaryl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl orheteroaryl group, a halogen, an ether group, a thioether group, analdehyde group, a ketone group, an ester group, an amide group, anamine, and a nitro group; R¹ and R² may represent the necessary atoms toform a five to eight membered ring; L represents an n+m-valent linkinggroup including 1 to 30 carbon atoms; A represents a radicallypolymerizable group selected from the group consisting of an acrylategroup, a methacrylate group, a styrene group, an acryl amide group, amethacryl amide group, a maleate group, a fumarate group, an itaconategroup, a vinyl ether group, an allyl ether group, a vinyl ester group,and an allyl ester group; and n and m independently represent an integerfrom 1 to
 5. 6. The radiation curable inkjet ink according to claim 5,wherein R¹ and R² both represent hydrogen.
 7. The radiation curableinkjet ink according to claim 6, wherein A represents an acrylate groupand/or a methacrylate group.
 8. The radiation curable inkjet inkaccording to claim 7, wherein A represents an acrylate group.
 9. Theradiation curable inkjet ink according to claim 5, wherein m representsan integer from 2 to
 4. 10. The radiation curable inkjet ink accordingto claim 5, wherein m represents the integer
 2. 11. The radiationcurable inkjet ink according to claim 5, wherein the at least onediffusion hindered photoinitiator is represented by Formula (VI):

wherein: L represents a trivalent linking group including 1 to 30 carbonatoms; and R⁶ and R⁷ independently represent hydrogen or a methyl group.12. The radiation curable inkjet ink according to claim 5, wherein theat least one diffusion hindered photoinitiator is selected from thegroup consisting of:


13. A method of inkjet printing including the steps of: a) providing aradiation curable inkjet ink as defined by claim 12 to an inkjetprinting device; b) depositing the radiation curable inkjet ink with theinkjet printing device on an ink-receiver; and c) at least partiallycuring the radiation curable inkjet ink by using UV radiation with awavelength longer than 360 nm.
 14. The method of inkjet printingaccording to claim 13, wherein the inkjet printing device includes oneor more UV LEDs having a wavelength longer than 360 nm.
 15. A method ofinkjet printing including the steps of: a) providing a radiation curableinkjet ink as defined by claim 5 to an inkjet printing device; b)depositing the radiation curable inkjet ink with the inkjet printingdevice on an ink-receiver; and c) at least partially curing theradiation curable inkjet ink by using UV radiation with a wavelengthlonger than 360 nm.
 16. The method of inkjet printing according to claim15, wherein the inkjet printing device includes one or more UV LEDshaving a wavelength longer than 360 nm.
 17. The radiation curable inkjetink according to claim 1, wherein the radiation curable inkjet ink has aviscosity of smaller than 10 mPa·s at 45° C. and at a shear rate of 90s⁻¹.
 18. A method of inkjet printing including the steps of: a)providing a radiation curable inkjet ink as defined by claim 1 to aninkjet printing device; b) depositing the radiation curable inkjet inkwith the inkjet printing device on an ink-receiver; and c) at leastpartially curing the radiation curable inkjet ink by using UV radiationwith a wavelength longer than 360 nm.
 19. The method of inkjet printingaccording to claim 18, wherein the inkjet printing device includes oneor more UV LEDs having a wavelength longer than 360 nm.
 20. Theradiation curable inkjet ink according to claim 1, further comprising acarbon black pigment and a copper phtalocyanine pigment.
 21. A method ofinkjet printing including the steps of: a) providing a radiation curableinkjet ink as defined by claim 20 to an inkjet printing device; b)depositing the radiation curable inkjet ink with the inkjet printingdevice on an ink-receiver; and c) at least partially curing theradiation curable inkjet ink by using UV radiation with a wavelengthlonger than 360 nm.
 22. The radiation curable inkjet ink according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one monomer including at least one vinylether group and at least one (meth)acrylate group is2-(2′-vinyloxyethoxyl)ethylacrylate.
 23. A method of inkjet printingincluding the steps of: a) providing a radiation curable inkjet ink asdefined by claim 22 to an inkjet printing device; b) depositing theradiation curable inkjet ink with the inkjet printing device on anink-receiver; and c) at least partially curing the radiation curableinkjet ink by using UV radiation with a wavelength longer than 360 nm.24. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 23, wherein theinkjet printing device includes one or more UV LEDs having a wavelengthlonger than 360 nm.